Legends of Belariath

Ubique et Hic

One Man's Dream

A darkened land gave rise to one,
And with his dreams it was all begun,
Lifting heavy head from sweet reverie,
He chose all that is and ever would be,
From the thoughts of one came all the land,
Influenced by others, but they stayed not his hand,
'Twas his finger's beckon, his nod to approve,
His wish to see the world spin and move,
Every market square, every town that rose,
The way the winds blow, each season that comes and goes,
'Twas his thought that gave rise to foul or fair,
The sickening twist that befouled the air,
The swampy troll that laboured with stones,
The barbarian lord that dealt with the bones,
The sensual nymph that killed with a smile,
The darkest elf that walked for a mile,
All walking forward to enter his realm and land,
Each owes their all to just one man,
Many come now, and share vision and dreams,
Making monsters rise up too, rise up and scream,
Bringing about battles epic or forgettable,
Living their lives simple or truly memorable,
The blood in their veins is his to command,
Because he rules this wayward land,
And agreeable or not, his rule and word are law,
Making monkeys whine and squeal and guffaw,
Making the slut into a lady and the lady into a whore,
Making nobles of peasants and giving rise and cause for war,
Complain as they will and he allows them to do,
Still they return, greet each day anew,
Knowing in their hearts what their lips refuse to speak,
That they owe him his dream, and that they are weak,
Too weak to dare say to his face what they scream at his back,
Scream about unfairness with their hearts so black,
Scream as he offers them tools to change,
Allows them to exist, their subservience to them strange,
Given backhanded, blade hidden in a sleeve,
They claw at his back with demands, no reprieve,
And still he beckons, one dream from one man,
Who lifted his eyes upward and made this very land,
The land they covet and fight over to make their own,
See how complacent and cowardly they've grown,
He suffers and endures them, growls when he must,
Gives to some his respect and his trust,
Gives to others a scowling glance, making them weep,
Wondering why their own faith they can't keep,
Still he is one man and the one responsible for this dream,
So rise up if you will, and lift voice to scream,
Lift words to complain, and lift fist to the air,
Or lay like cowards in the serpent's lair,
Curled around lies and dark hearts that bleed,
It is never the words of those that he needs,
He seeks the comprehension of those that will hear,
The rest, well in his words, can kiss his royal rear,
And if they will not bow, and will not go to bended knee,
Then let them leave, and forever be free,
Free from the dream of one man who rose up,
And shared with others the dream in a cup,
No one is forced to enter this land,
But foolish is the reveler who forgets that one man,
The man that stood up and said, let this dream be,
Who welcomed others, and said, walk with me,
Gave them the room to make their stories live,
And still, every insult, he would happily forgive,
And still he hears those who speak with forked tongue,
When a lesser man would kill them and just be done,
Be done with the hatred they call opinionated truth,
Spat with venom and jagged snaggle-tooth,
Not shared fairly, not discussed or debated,
When riled, all manners and courtesy are negated,
Why they exist, one has to ask this one man,
And that is because he is the ruler of this land,
And he'll have a sense of fairness, even if it looks jaded,
And he'll follow that dream, even if for others it's faded,
He'll continue to listen, and scowl bereaved,
Heart cold to those who don't argue but deceive,
Why they have a place here, only the gods can divine,
I know it wouldn't be so, if this land were mine,
But the point to be made in this happy soliloquy,
Is that in this land we're citizens, you and me,
Visitors to the dream of a single solitary man,
One who lifted his head and brought forth this land,
And with gratitude should we scamper about in the wood,
Dreaming up ways to change it, if we could,
Creating our own dreams within the realm we all play,
And cease the constant fighting to get our own way,
Rest easy knowing that one man takes the fall,
Every time something goes wrong, or a noble drops the ball,
One man made this world, and you agreed that first day,
That in his realm, and his rules, your own dreams would you play…

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